We asked, here’s what you told us –

• LinkedIn is my preferred professional networking site, followed by xing.com and then by Twitter and Plaxo. Facebook is only used for private networking to stay in touch with family and friends. Oliver Schmid
• I don’t like Twitter at all! LinkedIn works for me – just have to sift through the spam which can be frustrating and time consuming. Laura Beken
• I use Facebook, Linkedin, Plaxo and Twitter. I use ping.fm to post to all of them at the same time. I find Linkedin and Twitter very useful for biz and Facebook so far has been a great social network for me. Diane Helbig
• Obviously, I use LinkedIn given we’re all here and I think it works well for business and I’m starting to use Facebook for business too as there’s often related groups that I can contact regarding campaigns we’re working on.
  The last show I produced for SmallBusinessAdvice.tv just before Christmas was on this exact topic – have a look at http://www.smallbusinessadvice.tv/chat/using_social_networking_for_small_businesses

  Be good to get your comments on the show too – Russell Goldsmith

Related articles by Zemanta

• Social Media Marketing – Finding the Right Business Rhythm (marketingpr.suite101.com)
• Is LinkedIn Really Growing Faster Than Twitter? (regulargeek.com)
• Beyond the big three? (insights-group.com)
• LinkedIn Continues to Follow Where Facebook and Twitter Leads (socialmediatoday.com)
• Don’t tell Facebook what you like, tell Twitter (stage.vambenepe.com)

Search Engine Ranking Factors

Here’s a great analysis of many SEO topics which shows the most important factors as ranked by a group of 37 experts.

Check it out – it might just be a good refresher http://www.seomoz.org/article/search-ranking-factors

Related articles by Zemanta

• SEO Rankings: Getting To The Top Of Search Engine Ranking (wealthyways4you.com)
• Some Opinions on the SEO Myths & Realities Fight (mt-soft.com.ar)
• 5 Stellar Articles on SEO Basics (myventurepad.com)
• Social Media and SEO (onecoolsitebloggingtips.com)

I have a client who lives in Spain and travels frequently to India and Paraguay. We chat all the time for free. In addition, we tend to chat versus phone calls – one of us has a very thick accent (guess it depends on perspective) and we seem to communicate better via chat. I can’t imagine what the long distance fees would be on a tradition land line.

Further, it provides a transcript of all of our conversations. Frequently, I will go back to the chat to verify what the client said or wanted.

In addition, we occasionally use the video function when we need a face to face. The same as an in person meeting, hardly – but consider the cost.  If you work from home, be careful what shows up in your background.  Kinda hard to be a big shot power exec when My Little Pony is looming in the background.

Skype also gives us unlimited calling within the US and Canada for about $3 a month.

Of course, there are limitations to the service. Currently, Skype doesn’t offer caller ID in the US, so many folks don’t answer the phone because they don’t see the number. Call quality seems to be a function of the headsets I use.

If your phone bills are over $50, a VOIP alternative like Skype might provide some relief.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Skype intros new mobile calling plans to 170 countries (thaibrother.com)
• Skype says “no” to Windows Phone 7 (mobilecrunch.com)
• Skype drops calling costs (v3.co.uk)
• Skype debuts group video calls for Windows (download.cnet.com)
• Skype has new plans for you to choose from (crunchgear.com)

The Mayor’s office has released a press release relating to a SF local economic stimulus package.

While we applaud these efforts – we hope that City Hall adds in a layer of accountability. While it’s nice to say all the nice things you will do for local businesses, it is equally important to track the progress of the programs be implemented. How many businesses are being assisted? What percent of procurement contracts are being awarded to local businesses? This is not an area the City Hall has historically managed well. But as Harvey Milk would say “You Gotta Give ‘Em Hope!” – Here’s hoping City Hall gets it . . .

and of course – it has to get past the Board of Supervisors – that should be interesting.

The updated strategy details, and in some cases expands, the City’s efforts to implement those key strategies. These implementation strategies both build on existing economic development programs and launch a number of major new initiatives, including:

• Granting local businesses a New Jobs Payroll Tax exemption for two years. Businesses will not have to pay payroll tax on any increase in non partnership payroll over 2008 levels for two years. This means new businesses coming to San Francisco in 2009 and 2010 will not pay any local payroll tax until 2011;

• Amending the City’s Public Works Code to further expedite billions of dollars of already funded local infrastructure projects and to make it easier for local companies to work on those projects;

• Directly providing over $23 million in no-interest loans to local businesses;

• Granting local businesses a tax credit on new, locally purchased equipment;

• Providing an offset for qualifying small businesses who are participating in Healthy SF;

• Launching a business assistance strategy specifically directed to Spanish-speaking businesses;

• Building on the success of “Homeless Connect” by launching a series of new “Job Connect” events that include job fairs and workforce assistance and counseling;

• Opening the a “one-stop” workforce center for the unemployed in the Western Addition;

• Expanding the City’s “Bank on San Francisco” program to include financial literacy;

• Expanding the scope of the “Working Families Tax Credit” program;

• Expanding the successful “Shop SF. Get More” and “Staycation” holiday marketing campaigns;

• Expanding the City’s successful Neighborhood Marketplace Initiative (“NMI”) and Community Benefit District (“CBD”) Programs to support even more neighborhood commercial corridors;

• Expanding the scope and reach of existing state and federal tax credit programs;

• and Providing free space to local artists in vacant storefronts.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Harvey Milk Day of Action May 22 (bilerico.com)
• Small businesses report enthusiasm about new tax breaks for hiring (trueslant.com)
• Despite an Improving Economy, Citibank Survey Finds that Recession Lingers for Majority of California Small Businesses (eon.businesswire.com)

As I look at my projections for 2009 I am trying to figure out how to maintain profitability in this challenging economy. And while I haven’t raised my prices in a while now, this sure doesn’t feel like the climate to raise prices . . . so how do I navigate this and make sure I stay a FIT business?

For my business, I am looking long and hard about HOW I price – instead of just thinking of our services as traditional hourly rate I am starting to explore pricing that is based on the value we deliver to clients. That gives us an incentive to become more efficient for our clients without constantly eroding our own income. I want to move to a healthy environment in which my interests and my clients interests are completely aligned. And I want to make sure we are creating customer delight always, not encouraging clients to ask why we spent 15 minutes doing one thing or another . . .

So on my short list is Ronald J. Baker’s Pricing on Purpose: Creating and Capturing Value . . . check it out! I think FIT businesses need to reflect on how they price themselves. Join me in talking through how we can all improve our bottom lines, even in a challenging economy!

http://www.pbcsf.com/

Related articles by Zemanta

• What could lead you to think you’re not pricing your product the right way? (startups.com)
• New Blog Helps Home Business Entrepreneurs Find Success (prweb.com)